Reunion, class of 1984 and other thoughts

I am still in the reunion mood. I don't twitter, but facebook, linkedin , rediff and other social network sites carry pictures and brief write-ups of our reunion.

I shall not talk much about Jab we met, the classof 84 MCC, twenty five years after graduation. I shall rather look at the pictures and smile, laugh, brood, become emotional or think of the reunion with fond memories of the immediate past and of the 25 plus years. I shall instead let you have a peek at the times we lived in.

The period 1981 to 1984 was replete with plenty of historic events but since we are called the class of 84, I shall focus on the tumultuous and eventful year 1984. Incidentally George Orwell's magnum opus 1984 was not taught to us that year.

But then we had no Orwellian paranoia in 1984. Ronald Reagan was living the role of his life. Indra Gandhi was at the helm of affairs for her 15^th year as prime minister and MGR was voted to power after the assembly elections held in 1984 for the third time. (Of course my dream space in black and white has a picture of the then CM of Kerala K Karunakaran giving me the best midfielder award).

But then we had no inkling in the beginning of 1984 that the aftermath of Operation Bluestar in June 1984 will lead to the assassination of Indra Gandhi in October of that year or that MGR would be chief minister in absentia, diagnosed with kidney failure, (undergoing treatment in a Brooklyn hospital). Personally, the troubled times in Punjab cost me a trip with the Indian University team to Hongkong as the camp at Patiala was called off. I never got that chance again.

Even as we were preparing for our final exams in April, Rakesh Sharma awed us by becoming the first Indian to fly in space aboard Soyuz T 11. The best of Michael Jackson belonged to our times. He had moon walked in 1983 and gave the world his Thriller and beat everyone to it, 8 Grammy awards in 1984.

Socially, we were backward or at least that is what my kids tell me. For them we were from the Stone Age. We had a black and white portable TV, bought primarily to watch the 1982 Asian games. The only channel available was Doordharshan and the mindless song and dance sequence that is 24/7 today was prime time and the most coveted and sought after programme of the time. Many a youngster has asked me, "how did you guys manage to fall and stay in love without cell phones and SMS". We managed and rather well.  Provoked, I had only one answer for all of them, "you do not teach your grandfather to make children".

The summer Olympics of 1984 was at Los Angels. It was a total Carl Lewis show (4 gold's), though I do remember Daley Thompson the decathlete too. France won the football gold in Olympics that year. Michael Jordan made his name - the dream team was formed with some members of the US basketball team of the year.  In cricket, India had won the World cup . SMG and Kapil Dev were the legends of the time, though I personally like Gundappa Vishwanath.

Back home, during my college days, Kamal and Rajni were the biggest names in tamil cinema. Illayaraja was at his melodious best. The big B was the king of all he surveyed. The popular English movies of the year were Ghost Busters, Terminator, and Karate Kid though I remember watching Gods Must be Crazy and Police Academy at the local cinemas. It took me two more years before I read Iacocca's "Autobiography" though I read the popular Mario Puzzo's 1984 offering, Sicilian.

Finally as the year 1984 drew to a close, the Bhopal gas tragedy struck. Unlike today, we had no call centre jobs waiting for us or BPO's. IT was not in. The future looked challenging.

It is almost a week now after the reunion and most of us are back to the grind of everyday existence. What I liked best about the reunion was the mellowing and spirit of friendship today sans the cut-throat competitiveness of yesteryears. I am thrilled that all my class/college mates are doing well in life. I look forward to the golden reunion in 2034.